


far away on the other side

by TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel



Series: My Kingdom Is As Great [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: Book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, F/M, Fae & Fairies, Family, Magic, Toby Williams' POV, not quite canon, set in 1997, the day after the Battle of Hogwarts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-28
Updated: 2017-11-28
Packaged: 2019-02-07 23:36:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12851961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel/pseuds/TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel
Summary: The morning after the Battle of Hogwarts, Toby retrieves the muggleborn students who claimed sanctuary. Harry Potter tags along.





	far away on the other side

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you everyone who stuck this far, and has left comments and kudos on the fics in this series! I hope you've enjoyed the ride.

** far away on the other side **

The day after the Battle of Hogwarts, Toby took off his necklace for good.

He’d spent the night sleeping in his dormitory for the first time in a year, alongside housemates he hadn’t spoken to in nearly as long. Most of them were glad to see him; all of them were surprised to learn that he’d been in the castle all this time, helping Dumbledore’s Army.

Now, Toby tucked the enchanted silver chain into his pocket, and went looking for Neville. 

He found him at the Gryffindor House table in the Great Hall with Ginny, the two of them sitting next to what Hogwarts had dubbed the Golden Trio: Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and of course, the Chosen One himself, Harry Potter.

Harry looked uncomfortable with the way everyone was staring at him as he tried to eat his breakfast. Toby felt for him. All that attention couldn’t be fun. Toby was finding it odd enough just to be seen by others walking around the castle after a year of going unnoticed; he couldn’t imagine what it would be like with everyone deliberately staring, the way they were with Harry.

So Toby walked up behind Neville’s chair, not even looking at Harry, and said, “Enjoying the first day of freedom, Nev?”

Neville turned around in his chair, and smiled wearily. 

Toby could understand why. The battle the day before had been bloody, and a lot of people had died. Today wasn’t just a day to celebrate their newfound freedom from tyranny, but to mourn the deaths of those who hadn’t lived to see it.

“Hello, Toby. I suppose you were part of the battle yesterday?”

Toby grinned, although it took him some effort to do so. The battle had been _awful_. 

“Not that anyone noticed,” he said with a wink. A moment later he sobered, and gave a sigh. “There’s a lot still to be done.”

“I know.” Neville echoed Toby’s sigh. “I’m hoping the teachers will do something, for once.”

“Yeah.” Toby shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “So, I was planning on bringing back all the muggleborns this morning. Want to come?”

“Bringing back all the muggleborns?” asked Hermione sharply.

Toby looked at her.

“Sure. My sister’s been hiding about, oh, half the muggleborn students at this point. But don’t try and ask them where they’ve been – they’ve been sworn to secrecy.”

It had been part of the bargain they’d made with Sarah that they could only talk about where they’d been to those who already knew.

“But that’s got to be dozens of students,” Hermione protested.

“About a hundred,” Toby agreed. 

Neville managed a chuckle.

“Don’t underestimate him, Hermione. We’d have been lost without Toby, this year.”

“Definitely,” said Ginny. She looked pale and wan. Her brother Ron didn’t look much better. Toby eyed Ginny in concern.

“Everything okay, Ginny?”

“My brother.” Ginny looked deeply upset. “Fred. He–” She stopped, but she didn’t need to say any more. Toby understood.

“I’m sorry,” Toby said. He’d already said that to a lot of people, but it didn’t get any easier. 

Ginny nodded in acknowledgement.

“So, Nev, want to come with me to collect the muggleborns and bring them back?” Toby repeated his question.

“I’d like to come.”

Everyone turned to stare at Harry, Toby included.

“What?”

Harry blinked behind his glasses, and said, “I’d like to come. I’d like to see – I’d like to see that they’re all okay.” His mouth was a stubborn line.

Toby blinked, and looked at him hard.

Now that he was really looking at Harry, there was _something_ about him – something bigger than Harry himself, wrapped around him like a shroud. A subtle sense of power that the other wizards had probably missed. It was less showy than Sarah or Jareth’s magic, but it was there.

Toby figured that either Sarah or Jareth would probably be able to tell him what it was.

“You’d have to swear an oath while we’re there,” said Toby, making his decision. “Not to share anything you learn about me and my family in the process, or anything about where the muggleborns were hiding. Can you do that?”

“I can.” 

“Then alright, I’ll bring you with me. Nev?” Toby looked at the older boy.

“No thanks, Toby. Meeting your sister and her boyfriend once was more than enough.” Neville spoke with a smile, but it was clear that he meant what he said.

“Her betrothed,” said Toby, because he couldn’t connect a word as ordinary as ‘boyfriend’ with Jareth. The word was so... _casual_. “Sarah agreed to marry him months ago – the day after Christmas. They’re getting married next spring. Apparently there’s a heap of people they need to invite, even though neither of them want to.” Toby waved a vague hand. “Politics. You know.”

Neville made a rueful face as though he understood. That was the nice thing about the fact that Neville knew that Toby was technically a fairy prince. He knew what Toby was talking about.

“The other courts?” Neville asked, to the confusion of everyone who was listening in.

“Yeah,” said Toby, and didn’t tell him that the rest of the high fae sounded like a bunch of jerks, from everything that Jareth had said. Toby knew better than to say that aloud where anyone could overhear him.

“Sorry, but what are you talking about?” asked Ron.

“Nothing important,” said Neville, his face perfectly open and honest despite the outright lie. Toby eyed him, impressed.

Harry sent Neville a suspicious look, but no one else seemed to have picked up on his falsehood.

“Anyway,” said Toby to Harry. “As soon as you’re ready to leave, we can go. Ground rules: be polite to everyone you meet, don’t draw your wand on anyone, and don’t accept food unless you know where it’s from. And don’t bring anything iron with you,” Toby added as an afterthought.

Harry and Hermione both blinked. Hermione got the strangest look on her face, and Toby wondered if maybe he should have told Harry the rules once they were out of the Great Hall and out of everyone else’s hearing. The Ravenclaws told _stories_ about Hermione.

“That’s… oddly specific,” said Harry, his forehead wrinkling.

“Neville,” said Hermione slowly.

“It’s fine, Hermione,” said Neville. “Don’t worry about it.”

Harry glanced around at all the staring faces, and pushed his plate away.

“I’m ready to go,” he told Toby. “I’m not that hungry, anyway.”

Toby eyed Harry’s too-thin frame, which made him look as though he’d grown up too fast, too soon, and without enough nourishment to sustain his rapid growth, but simply said, “Alright.”

Toby began walking out of the Great Hall towards the Entrance Hall, with Harry following. Hermione rose as though to go after them, but Neville caught her arm and murmured something that made her sit back down.

When they reached the front doors and emerged into the open air Toby said, “So. Being famous. It sounds like hell.”

He realised a second later that Harry was no longer walking with him. He stopped, and turned to look over his shoulder. Harry was stopped, and staring at him.

Toby raised his eyebrows in inquiry.

“Sorry,” said Harry, after a second. “It’s just – yeah. It is.” He started walking again.

“I sort of get it,” said Toby. “Being a prince and all. I haven’t met many people who know who I am, but it’s bound to be terrible at my sister’s wedding.”

“I – a prince? You’re having me on.”

Toby shook his head. 

“I’m really not,” he said, sending Harry a wry smile. “You’ll see.”

They continued walking, falling into silence. Only once they reached Hogwarts’ gates and stepped outside them did Toby stop.

“Give me your hand,” he told Harry.

Harry sent him a suspicious, searching kind of look, but did.

“Right – close your eyes, and step forward when I say so.”

Harry closed his eyes, still frowning.

Toby took a deep breath, focusing on his destination, and _moved_.

Harry slid easily with him, although the boundaries of the Labyrinth shivered in what felt like recognition as Harry’s feet came down on Labyrinth soil.

“Okay, you can open your eyes.”

Harry did, and stared around, first at the pale orange sky, and then at the building in front of them.

What had started out as a kind of shanty town was now a formidable stone tower, shaped by Sarah from sheer force of will and the belief of over a hundred young wizards.

Toby looked to see if Sarah was nearby. He couldn’t see her anywhere.

“Queen of the Labyrinth, I request your presence!” he called out.

A moment later, Sarah was simply _there_. Harry started badly, but didn’t go for his wand the way that Toby, for a moment, feared he might.

Sarah’s eyes landed on Harry, and went wide and shocked. Then she drew herself up, eyes flashing and the air turning electric and heavy, and Toby thought, _uh oh_.

“Master of Death,” said Sarah, beautiful and terrible even to Toby’s eyes. “What brings you into my kingdom?”

Harry blinked slowly, while Toby was reeling at the title. _Master of Death?_ No wonder Sarah was worried.

“I was invited,” said Harry, and then, seeming to perceive Sarah’s fear even if he didn’t understand the cause, he added, “I’m not here to hurt anyone.”

“Say you give your word,” Toby hissed out of the corner of his mouth.

“I give you my word.” Harry tacked on the addition.

At that, Sarah relaxed, and went back to being Toby’s sister instead of someone great and terrible.

“All right,” she said, her voice still careful, despite her relief. “May you enjoy my hospitality, Master of Death.”

Harry was looking increasingly bemused.

“It’s just Harry. How did you know I was the Master of Death?”

Sarah sent him a look which was incredulous.

“How could I not know?” she asked, in genuine confusion. “You _are_ the Master of Death.”

“We can feel your power,” Toby told him. He was pretty sure that Sarah wasn’t the only one confused by this conversation.

“Exactly,” said Sarah. “I can feel that you are more than just a wizard.”

Harry’s forehead crinkled.

“But I’m not.”

“But you are,” said Toby, because if even _he_ could feel it, it had to be obvious. “How can you not know?”

“But I’m _not_ ,” said Harry a second time, this time with emphasis. “I abandoned the Elder Wand!”

Sarah’s eyes widened in comprehension, followed swiftly by sympathy. That… didn’t bode well.

“Toby,” she said, “I think your friend and I need to have a talk.”

“Alright,” said Toby, because he was pretty sure there were things Harry needed to know that he _didn’t_ know. Being-of-power-related stuff. “I’m going to get all the kids together and make sure they’re ready to return to Hogwarts. I’ll come find you once I’m done.”

He watched as Sarah and Harry vanished from view, probably to the glade of morning glories at the Labyrinth’s centre. Then he turned and headed for the stone tower.

It took over an hour for everyone to be notified, and then to pack up the things that they’d brought with them or had picked up during their time in the Labyrinth. Several students who had lost their families to Death Eater attacks insisted on staying, arguing that they had nothing and no one to go back to. Toby wanted to argue, but didn’t: the students who wanted to stay were clear-eyed and solemn, and evidently understood their choice.

When everyone was finally ready to go, Toby went looking for Sarah and Harry.

Sure enough, he found them in the glade. Sarah was sitting opposite Harry, leaning forward, one hand resting over Harry’s clenched fist. Her expression was soft and sad. Toby couldn’t see Harry’s face from here, but sensed that Sarah had given him unwelcome news. He hung back out of a sense of tact.

But Sarah caught his eye, and sat back, calling Toby over to ask whether the muggleborns were ready to leave.

“Everyone’s ready to go, except for the ones who want to stay,” Toby said, watching Harry cautiously. The young man seemed angry, but not at Sarah, and there was an undertone of resignation behind the anger. Whatever Sarah had told him, evidently it hadn’t been as much of a surprise as Toby had feared it would be.

“I’ll transport them back to the mortal realm,” said Sarah.

“Mortal realm?” Harry asked, rousing from his dark mood.

Sarah smiled at him.

“Harry, you’re in the Labyrinth which borders on Goblin City. I’m a Queen amongst the high fae.”

“You mean… we’re in Fairyland?” Harry was looking disbelieving.

Sarah laughed.

“One of the fairy realms, anyway,” she said. “Despite what some witches and wizards think, we’re more than stories.”

“Master of Death,” said a new voice. Toby turned to see Jareth standing behind them. The Goblin King’s eyes shone with recognition.

Harry stared at him for a moment.

“Have we met?” he asked Jareth doubtfully.

“Yes,” said Jareth. He did not elaborate.

Sarah looked at him, and back to Harry. Toby watched them with interest.

“But he wasn’t…” Sarah began.

“No. He wasn’t.”

“Then…” Sarah trailed off, looking at Jareth expectantly. Harry looked at him, too, apparently curious about Jareth’s answer.

Jareth looked at them, and Toby could sense his reticence. 

“Occasionally I have had liaisons with mortals. I keep track of their descendants,” Jareth said simply, his voice devoid of any emotion which Toby could detect.

Sarah’s eyes went big and round. Toby could feel his own eyes doing the same.

But understanding crossed Sarah’s face a moment later, and Toby reminded himself that Jareth was _old_ – he’d had plenty of time for that sort of thing, before he began courting Sarah. Toby wondered how many generations along Harry was descended from him.

Harry’s reaction was different.

“Wait, what?” Harry blurted, looking far more shocked than Sarah had. A moment later, his expression shifted to one of recognition. “ _You!_ I used to dream about you!” A conflicted expression crossed his face. “They weren’t really dreams, were they?”

“They were.” Jareth’s voice was uncharacteristically quiet. “But that is not all that they were.”

Harry swallowed.

“If – if we’re family –” he said, and the expression on his face was painful, “why didn’t you do anything about the Dursleys? You _knew_.”

“The wards where you resided were strong, powered by love and sacrifice,” said Jareth. “I could not breach them. And once you turned eleven, you were beyond my reach.”

“What do you know about the Wizard-Fae War?” Sarah asked Harry. He looked at her blankly.

“The what?”

Sarah sighed.

“There was a war between the fae and the wizards, about a thousand years ago,” she explained in a gentle voice. “Neither side won, precisely, but Merlin strengthened the boundaries between the mortal and fairy realms so that any member of the fae would find their power diminished if they entered the mortal realm, and placed protections over wizardkind. Jareth cannot take a wizard child unless they’re wished away by their guardian or caretaker, and for that, they have to use exactly the right words, or the summoning doesn’t work.”

“Oh,” said Harry. He looked to Jareth. There was a strange, hopeful light in his eyes. “But – you would have taken me away, if you could have?”

Jareth was silent for a long moment.

“There is no use in dwelling on that which I might have done. But I would not willingly have left a child of my blood in such conditions as you faced.”

“Oh,” said Harry again. 

He laughed suddenly, the sound pained and bitter, and ran a hand through his hair.

“It figures that the one person who might have actually done something about my childhood, couldn’t.”

Jareth didn’t try to comfort him. It was Sarah who stretched out a hand to squeeze Harry’s shoulder, her eyes full of sympathy.

“I suppose it doesn’t matter, now,” said Harry. The look on Jareth’s face said that he didn’t agree. But Harry looked at him, open and direct, and said, “So where do we stand?”

Jareth didn’t pretend not to understand.

“I have no claim on you,” he said. “You are the Master of Death. Your power surpasses mine, even if you have yet to discover its nature.”

“Yes, but –” Harry stopped, and looked frustrated, as though he wanted something but wasn’t sure how to ask for it. “I don’t care about that. I care about–” He stopped again, and this time he didn’t try to finish what he’d been trying to say.

Jareth looked at him. Finally the Goblin King said,

“You are welcome in my kingdom, Master of Death, if that is what you wish.”

Harry stared at him.

“You’re bloody hard to read, you know that?”

“Harry,” said Sarah, and Harry’s head turned towards her. She was smiling softly. “The Goblin King offers welcome to other beings of power very rarely.”

Toby watched as Harry turned that over in his mind. Toby glanced at Jareth. Harry was right: Jareth was hard to read. But Toby knew him well enough to see that Jareth was hoping for something, and attempting to hold that hope in check in case he didn’t get it.

Toby wondered if Harry wasn’t the only one who had wanted more family than he had. Jareth didn’t talk about his family much, but Toby knew that the only relatives he had left were distant cousins, none of whom he regarded as family. They mistrusted and feared his power – with good reason, of course; Jareth could rarely be described as _open_ or _kind_ – and saw him as something in-between ally and enemy, a neutral power that they could not bend to their own will, and therefore had little use for.

Yeah, Toby thought that they sounded like a bunch of jerks and wasn’t at all looking forward to meeting Oberon and Titania at Sarah and Jareth’s wedding, no matter how important it was for diplomatic reasons.

At last, Harry spoke.

“What’s your name? I know you’re the Dream King, but I don’t know who you are.”

Toby stiffened. A look at Harry told him that the young man had no idea of the import of his question.

“I am not merely the King of Dreams, but the Goblin King,” said Jareth. He was watching Harry closely, his expression inscrutable. “But my name is Jareth. You should be warned, Master of Death, that names have power. It is not wise to give them away freely.” 

Harry blinked.

“But _everyone_ knows my name.”

“Then you must ensure that those who know you by your name do not know you as the Master of Death, and vice versa.”

Harry considered this. Then he said, quite firmly, “My name is Harry, and it’s a pleasure to meet you, Jareth.”

For the first time since he’d set eyes on Harry and proclaimed him the Master of Death, Jareth smiled, and the tension holding him taut as a bowstring finally left him.

“I might say the same of you, young Harry.”

“How closely are the two of you related?” Sarah asked. Jareth glanced at her.

“Harry’s grandmother was my daughter,” he said, and sighed. “Her hair was the same shade of red as my mother’s, and she passed it on to her daughter, and then to Lily.”

“So Harry is your great-grandson,” said Sarah.

“That’s awesome.” Toby finally spoke up. “Hey, Sarah, that means you’re going to have a great-grandson-in-law! I wonder what that makes me and Harry?”

“ _Toby_ ,” said Sarah. 

Harry looked overwhelmed.

“His great-grand-uncle by marriage, once Sarah and I marry,” said Jareth, answering Toby’s question.

“That’s so cool,” said Toby, amazed that there was even a label for that degree of relationship. But then, if anyone was going to know the appropriate label, it would be Jareth. Fae relationships could be complicated, given how long their life-spans were. Toby supposed that they needed those kinds of labels to keep all the familial relationships from getting confused.

“I can’t believe that I have _family_ ,” said Harry. He still looked overwhelmed. “Besides the Dursleys, I mean.”

“Do not dignify them with such a title,” said Jareth, his tone suddenly sharp. “They may be your relatives, but they were never your family.”

“I don’t know,” said Harry. “Dudley tried, there at the end. I have to give him that.”

“You do _not_ ,” said Jareth, still in that sharp voice. “You are not beholden to him.”

“No,” Harry said, in agreement. “But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to stay in touch with him. Even if it’s just a card at Christmas. He’s not his parents – at least, not anymore. I should give him a chance to be his own man.”

Jareth frowned in disagreement, but to Toby’s surprise, didn’t argue. Perhaps it was the obstinate tilt of Harry’s chin.

“You know,” said Toby, “the muggleborn witches and wizards who claimed sanctuary are probably waiting for us to take them home.”

Sarah looked a little guilty.

“You’re right – I completely forgot.” She stood up from her seat. “I’ll bring them back to the mortal realm immediately.” She looked at Harry. “You can stay a little longer if you want, or you can return with the muggleborn students. It’s your choice.”

“I should probably get back to Hogwarts. People will be wondering where I disappeared to. But – I’d like to come back,” he said, looking between Sarah and Jareth.

“You’re welcome to,” Sarah said with a smile. Jareth only watched Harry.

“I can bring you along next time I visit, if you haven’t worked out how to get here by then,” offered Toby.

“You may also ask for directions to the Underground from Gringotts,” said Jareth. “I will make sure that my goblins know to send you here.”

“Er,” said Harry, looking shifty. “They don’t exactly like me at the moment. I might have stolen something from a vault, and broken out of Gringotts on the back of a dragon–”

Laughter burst from Toby. He tried to stop himself, knowing that it wasn’t appropriate, but he couldn’t help it.

Jareth sent a forbidding look his way, as though he didn’t appreciate Toby’s mirth, but said to Harry, “I am aware. It is immaterial. My goblins will do as they are told. They are no threat to you.”

“Oh,” said Harry. He smiled suddenly at Jareth, the expression bright and nearly blinding, his eyes shining the colour of Sprite bottles behind his glasses. “Well, thanks.”

Jareth only looked at him.

“Come along,” said Sarah, taking Harry’s arm. “We’d best get my refugees back where they belong. Toby?”

Toby took hold of Sarah’s other arm. The world wavered around the three of them, and a second later they were standing in the gigantic clearing where the tower was. The muggleborn students were milling around the clearing, chatting excitedly. 

“Excuse me,” Sarah called, and a hush fell as the hundred or so teenagers and children turned their faces towards her. “If you would all put a hand on the shoulder of the person next to you, so that everyone who wants to return to Hogwarts is touching, that would be very helpful.”

A couple of minutes passed as everyone attempted to make sure that they were in contact with someone.

Sarah nodded at Toby. Elspeth was near the front of the crowd, and so Toby moved forward to put a hand on her shoulder.

“Three, two, one,” said Sarah, and the world spun, the boundaries of the Labyrinth protesting against such a large movement of people.

Toby’s feet came down on the earth outside Hogwarts’ gates. 

“We’re _back!_ ” Elspeth shouted, and a cheer went up. Somehow, everyone began moving at once, and Toby found himself leading the large crowd of muggleborn students up the path to the castle.

The group poured through the Entrance Hall, through the massive entry doors and into the Great Hall. Toby saw heads turning in astonishment, students and teachers alike, but he was too busy grinning to pay their reactions much attention.

Cries of joy and excitement went up as the muggleborn students were reunited with their friends, and Toby saw more than one set of people hug each other tightly. Some of the kids were crying as they realised that their time in hiding really was over.

Smiling so hard his face hurt, Toby sauntered over the Hufflepuff table and took a seat neat to Susan and Hannah, content to be overlooked in the hubbub.

Harry trailed into the Great Hall last of all, and amid all the fuss managed to make his way to the Hufflepuff table without being waylaid by people trying to thank him for defeating You-Know-Who.

“Your name’s Toby, isn’t it?”

“Considering that we’re almost family, you really ought to remember it,” said Toby. He was only teasing, but Harry flushed and looked defensive.

“I–”

“I’m just teasing,” said Toby quickly.

“Oh.” Harry stopped looking defensive, and looked awkward instead. 

“Why don’t you have a seat?” Toby offered, well-aware of Hannah and Susan on his other side, watching with interest.

Harry did so, sitting in the chair next to Toby’s.

“What did you want to talk about?” asked Toby. 

“I just… you know J–”

“ _Don’t say his name!_ ” Toby cut Harry off. Jareth didn’t usually go using his name for a _reason_.

Harry blinked, but seemed to remember what Jareth had said about names having power.

“ –er, my new relative better than I do. Did he… did he really want me as family?”

“Of course he did,” said Toby. “He was on tenterhooks the whole time in case you didn’t feel the same way. Look, I know he can be hard to read to anyone who doesn’t know him, but he meant what he said. You’re _welcome_ there.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Hannah.

“Oh, it turns out Harry is related to my future brother-in-law. We’re going to be, I don’t know, cousins or something,” said Toby, keeping it deliberately vague. “I was just telling him that my brother-in-law meant it when he said Harry was welcome to drop in any time.”

Susan blinked, clearly wondering if this newfound familial relationship meant that Harry was part-fae, as well as Toby. But with Hannah there, she couldn’t ask.

Harry looked down for a moment, before looking up again at Toby with a crooked smile.

“I’m not… used to that. Family, I mean.”

Toby frowned, understanding what Harry was saying.

“Rumour has it you grew up with muggle relatives.”

Harry looked down again.

“I did, yeah.”

“Do you want me to curse them? I have a crystal which will give people nightmares, if that would help.”

A laugh burst out of Harry, sudden and surprised. From his expression, he hadn’t expected the laughter any more than Toby had.

“Thanks for the offer, but it’s fine, really. I don’t want them cursed. Even if your offer is a little tempting.”

“If you ever change your mind…”

“I won’t,” said Harry, and although he was smiling, it was clear he meant what he said.

So Toby only shrugged, and changed the subject.

“Are you okay? You seemed upset by whatever my sister told you.”

Harry’s face fell.

“It… wasn’t exactly welcome news. But I’ll live.” And he laughed, as though there was some hidden irony to his words.

“ _Oh_ ,” said Toby, suddenly getting it. “Did you think–”

He stopped, because _did you think you were still mortal_ wasn’t a question you could ask out in the open, surrounded by witches and wizards.

But he didn’t need to finish the question. Harry understood what he was asking.

“Yeah,” he said, and looked tired. “I did.”

Toby looked at him, at the quiet grief in Harry’s face for everything he was losing with his newfound immortality, and didn’t comment.

“Well. You have family, at least.”

“Yeah,” said Harry. “I suppose there’s that.” He shook his head. “ _Weird_ family, though.”

Toby laughed, and then a thought struck him.

“Oh man, you _have_ to come to the wedding,” he said, his voice gleeful. “You’ll have all the cousins wondering how my brother-in-law got _you_ to attend – it’ll be great! They’ll be _furious_.”

“I get the feeling you don’t like your cousins,” said Harry, and he was smiling again, the grief put aside for the moment.

“Well, my future brother-in-law sort of hates his cousins, just a bit,” explained Toby. “And I trust his judgement when it comes to them.”

“We’ll see if I’m invited,” said Harry, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Toby’s suggestion.

“You will be,” said Toby with absolute certainty. “Aside from the fact that you’re family, my future brother-in-law is… conniving.”

Harry thought about that.

Just then Elspeth pounced on Toby.

“Hey, book-nerd, come sit with us!” she said, and began dragging Toby out of his chair and in the direction of the muggleborn Hufflepuffs who were clustered at the other end of the Hufflepuff table. Harry watched in amusement, and didn’t seem to mind that Toby was abandoning him for Toby’s housemates. 

Laughing, Toby allowed himself to be dragged away. Things weren’t back to normal, and wouldn’t be for a while. But this was a good start.

**Author's Note:**

> And here ends the series.


End file.
